Cyclones back in state title matchSEARCY — Sometimes it’s harder to get back to the state championship game after winning it the year before. The Russellville Cyclones soccer team did just that Saturday with a 3-0 shutout over the state tournament host Searcy Lions. RHS will play Siloam Springs for the 6A state championship next weekend at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Cyclones took a 2-0 lead in the first half on goals from Nate Turner and Tony Jones. Landon...

Close encounters of a reptilian kindThe sun was setting behind the mountains. The light was soft, diffused, pastel like in its quality. The sounds of children laughing and splashing echoed softly, adult voices talking mixed in. The smells of charcoal grills drifted down to the banks of the Buffalo River at Buffalo Point Campground near Yellville. My wife and I were sitting on the sandy bank in lawn chairs, our feet in the water, absolutely at peace in that extraordinarily simple...

Arkansas River Valley experiences highest water levels in yearsResidents of the Arkansas River Valley have got a chance to see some of the highest water levels in recent years and if the rains continue, we may all need a boat before the end of next week. The main attraction last week was the Arkansas River as it pushed water all the way up behind all the buildings lining Second Street in Dardanelle, with water completely covering the river front park where just a few days a good number of people and carni...

Panthers shut out Cyclones in semisTEXARKANA — Ernest Thayer wrote his “Casey at the Bat” poem back in 1888, and Cyclone baseball fans know exactly how he must have felt when he penned the words of the poem’s last paragraph: “But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.” The defending state 6A champion Russellville Cyclones lost 6-0 to the Benton Panthers in Saturday’s 6A state semifinal match-up. It was just a year ago RHS beat host Benton 5-1 in the state se...

Affirming the obvious: Here’s your signJONESBORO — I’m sitting in my office and a man passes by my office and sees the deer that’s hanging on my wall. He stops, leans in through the doorway and says “You kill that deer?” “No, it was a birthday present from my wife,” I want to say but don’t. “Yes, a couple years ago.” I reply instead. He walks away and I think to myself, “here buddy, is your sign.” I’ll never forget the time when we’re going deer hunting during muzzleloader season a...

Cyclones back in 6A state title matchSEARCY — Sometimes it's harder to get back to the state championship game after winning it the year before. The Russellville Cyclones soccer team did just that Saturday with a 3-0 shutout over the state tournament host Searcy Lions. RHS will play Siloam Springs for the 6A state championship at noon Saturday at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Cyclones took a 2-0 lead in the first half on goals from Nate Turner and Tony Jones. La...

Cyclones survive and advanceTEXARKANA — One down, two to go. The Russellville Cyclones baseball team moved one step closer to the Class 6A State championship game with an 11-4 quarterfinal win over the El Dorado Wildcats on Friday. Russellville earned the No. 1 seed from the Central and a first-round bye in the tournament. El Dorado defeated Searcy in round one. Cyclones head coach Matt Long said he had told his kids all year that the final three games of the year were t...

State Tournament briefs (May 15, 2015)Softball Genoa 7, Atkins 3 HARRISON — The Atkins Lady Red Devils fell to Genoa Central 7-3 in the second round of the Class 3A State Tournament. Alex Webb took the loss. Webb allowed six runs across six innings, walked two and struck out two. Atkins collected six hits against Genoa and tied the game a 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Lady Red Devils were outscored 4-0 across the fifth-and sixth innings during the loss. Bauxite 3...

Lightning on Ludwig set to kick off SaturdayLake Ludwig near Clarksville will be the site of the National Boat Racing Association’s North/South Shootout Championship on Saturday and Sunday. More than 85 drivers from 11 states are expected to bring their 125-pound hydroplane boats to compete for cash and national ranking. At least four people accompany each driver, and Gina Wilkins, Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce director, said more than 500 people are expected to attend,...

Robinson earns second All-Region nodLOUISVILLE, Ky. — Arkansas Tech Golden Suns senior Whitney Robinson added another postseason honor to her credit, picking up a second team all-Central Region honor from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The honor comes after Robinson was named second team all-Region by Daktronics/D2SIDA earlier this week. A native of Choctaw, Oklahoma, Robinson hit .399 to lead the Golden Suns, while hitting 11 home runs and driving in 39 runs. She t...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Castleberry picks up pair of honorsOne day after picking up a second team all-region honor from Daktronics, Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys first baseman Patrick Castleberry was named to the All-Central Region First Team by both the National College Baseball Writers Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association. Castleberry hit .380 on the season, leading Arkansas Tech in most offensive categories. His 68 hits, 18 doubles, and 64 RBIs were all team highs, while his 13 hom...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

No charges against boxer Jermain Taylor after possible fight LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — No charges have been filed against boxer Jermain Taylor for a possible fight between Taylor and another resident of a Little Rock rehabilitation center. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1A2SfPc ) that Oasis Renewal Center Director David Bradshaw told Pulaski County deputies on Wednesday that Taylor "possibly hit" the resident and a witness heard a person falling, then saw Taylor standing a short dis...

Cyclones leave for state tournamentRussellville Cyclones head baseball coach Matt Long hopes to lean on solid pitching throughout the Class 6A State Tournament. Long said he has two solid pitchers in: Garrett Freeman and Mark Moyer. "Good pitching will always be better than good hitting," Long said. "I haven't seen everybody's guys, but Mark and Garrett are some of the best around. We are going to climb in a foxhole with those two guys. People will be shooting some bullets at u...

Lady Apaches prepare for 4A tourneyMENA — Pottsville Lady Apaches head softball coach Greg Jones made an early trip to Mena for the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. The Lady Apaches earned a first-round bye, so Jones watched the Bauxite Lady Miners and Trumann Lady Wildcats go head-to-head and scouted the team he will face in round two. Bauxite won 10-0. "They're really athletic," Jones admitted. "They're really well-coached, and they have a pitcher that is very comp...

State Tournament briefs (May 14, 2015)Soccer DHS SB 7, Malvern 0 MAUMELLE — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards devastated the Malvern Leopards 7-0 in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Edgardo Mendoza scored five of the Sand Lizards seven goals — three of which came within five minutes of each other in the second half. Dardanelle's other goals came from Nervin Martinez and Roberto Martinez. Dardanelle will play in the second round at 4 p.m. today RHS SB 6, Texarkana 0 SEARCY...

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Compiled by Travis SimpsonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Suns 10th after second round of NCAA tourneyMegan Jeffery’s second-round 80 (+8) led the way for the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns golf team, as the Golden Suns fired a second-round 326 and sit alone in 10th place after the second round of the Division II Women’s Golf Championships. Jeffery’s individual score of 161 places her in in a tie for 45th, 14 strokes behind overall leader Brenna Moore of Midwestern State. Indianapolis fired a 299 to strengthen its hold on the top team position, and...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Surtevall named first team academic All-DistrictAlready one of the most decorated student-athletes in Arkansas Tech history, senior Golden Suns golfer Rebecka Surtevall added an academic honor on Thursday, earning a First Team selection to the Capital One Academic All-District At-Large Team. As a result of her first team selection, Surtevall’s name will advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second-, and third-team All-America honorees will be selected la...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Dardanelle, Danville soccer heads to stateDARDANELLE — Sand Lizards head coach Bryan Hardaway is anxious for his team's first-round Class 4A state playoff game against the Malvern Leopards today at the Rolling Oaks Soccer Complex in Maumelle. The Sand Lizards haven't played a game since Thursday and Hardaway said he'd like to keep the ball rolling. Dardanelle ended the regular season 14-0 — a feat made more impressive by the face that each win was notched on the road as Keenan Field h...

RHS to host Meet of ChampionsCyclone Stadium will play host to the best track and field athletes in the state on Saturday during the 2015 Meet of Champions. The annual Meet of Champions pits the No. 1 competitors from each track and field event from each classification's state meet against one another in an effort to determine the best-of-the best. "It's been a long time since we've done this," Russellville head track coach Charlie Goodman said. "This is the cream of the ...

Atkins wins region with two-out, last inning rallyBOONEVILLE — The Atkins Lady Red Devils won the 3A Region-1 Regional Tournament on Tuesday with back-to-back wins over the Charleston Lady Tigers and the Booneville Lady Bearcats. Atkins defeated Charleston 4-0 in the semifinals before moving on to beat Booneville in the finals on the same day. The Lady Red Devils trailed 2-0 going into the seventh inning against Booneville but scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to snatch the victor...